Looking for an Alternative to Google’s Personalized Results? Try Wajam

Jan 24, 2012

Google's integration of Google+ results hasn't exactly received the thunderous applause Google probably expected. Chances are, however, it's here to stay, though that doesn't mean some enterprising developers aren't trying to come up with alternatives. With the "don't be evil" tool, even Google's own competitors have now launched a bookmarklet that brings social results from Twitter and Facebook back out of hiding on Google's search results pages. That's not a real alternative to a full-blown social search application though, as it still only relies on Google's own results. For that, I've been using Wajam for the last few month and now seems like a good time to take another look at the tool given that it presents one of the few viable alternatives to Google's own approach.

Click for a larger imageWhat's nice about Wajam is that it can present you with search results from Facebook, Twitter and Google+ – including private results if you give it the clearance to do so. Indeed, Wajam had integrated Google+ results long before Google even offered its own search feature for its social network.

Once installed, the Wajam extension integrates the company's own search results on the Google search results page and also takes over part of the sidebar to present you with videos, photos and recommendations from your friends from sites like Yelp and Amazon. You can also tweak which social networks you want to be included in your search.

The Wajam team, of course, couldn't stand still and just let the whole Google+ controversy pass it by, so they created the following video that shows you how it works and how it compares to the "don't be evil" tool: